The Paleo Pact

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Coconut Yogurt Made Simple

I’ve tried several different methods for making coconut yogurt. My biggest issue with all of them were that they were extremely involved and time consuming. I decided I needed to find an easy way to make coconut yogurt with as limited involvement as possible, because let’s face it we try to keep recipes as simple as possible on this blog.

Don’t worry though, in this case simple is exactly what you need to make fantastic coconut yogurt.

INGREDIENTS

1 can of coconut milk (the fuller fat the better)
2 probiotic tablets (mine were rated at 10 billion), you’ll need to break these open as you’ll just be using the powder and be discarding the casings.
3 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon of gelatin
*you’ll also need 1 mason jar.

RECIPE

Turn your oven light on, just the light you do not need to turn on the oven. The heat from the light will be enough to incubate the yogurt and give it the sour taste that you like.
Open the can of coconut milk and scoop out the thick coconut cream that has formed at the top of the can and place in a clean mason jar.
After you have scooped out the thick coconut cream, add roughly 5 tablespoons of the remaining liquid to the mason jar with the cream. (The remaining liquid can be saved and added to smoothies!)
Add the probiotic powder, honey and gelatin the mason jar and stir to combine.
Stick in the over with the oven light on for 24 hours (do not cover).
After 24 hours remove from the oven.
You’ll notice that the yogurt has separated, a milky color liquid on the top and a clear liquid on the bottom
For a thicker yogurt, spoon the milky top layer and half the clear liquid into a blender, blend and enjoy!
For a thinner yogurt, place all liquid into a blender, blend and enjoy!

As a note, if you plan to refrigerate the yogurt and not consume it right away it is best to prepare the thinner yogurt. The yogurt will become thicker the longer it is in the fridge. While there are several steps for this recipe it is well worth your time, you’ll become addicted to this recipe quickly!

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Paleo Smoked Salmon & Bacon Salad

I feel like I have a lot of favorites when I share recipes with all of you, I think it’s because I only like to share the recipes that I know are great and that I thoroughly enjoy. So here we are again with another favorite, however this is a little different because this is hands down my favorite salad recipe.

I came up with it on accident, essentially I had limited ingredients in my fridge and I was having a craving for bacon (who doesn’t right?). Now, I eat this salad regularly because it’s simple to make and it’s filling, which is particularly good for getting me through my afternoon workouts.

You may even notice that I’ve created a wrap based on it in the post Paleo Smoked Salmon wrap, clearly I can’t get enough.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of kale and shredded brussel sprouts
3 strips of bacon, diced
3 – 4 ounces of smoked salmon
1/2 avocado, sliced
balsamic vinegar (I like to use a dressing that’s slightly thicker)

RECIPE

Place kale and brussel sprouts mixture on plate.
Cover mixture with bacon, smoked salmon, avocado slices.
Dress with desired amount of balsamic vinegar (or dressing of your choice).
That’s it! It’s simple but that’s part of why it’s so perfect. This salad will speak for itself.

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Valentines Peaches

With Valentine’s Day coming up you might be searching for a sweet treat for your someone special. Don’t worry, we have a simple recipe that anyone can make. This pairs perfectly with coconut yogurt, sorbet or coconut yogurt, which you can make yourself or purchase from your local health food store.

INGREDIENTS

1 peach (a ripe peach is preferable)
1 tablespoon honey
coconut yogurt, sorbet or coconut yogurt (if you’d like)

RECIPE

Wash peach and cut into cubes.
Place peach cubes in a microwave safe bowl and drizzle with honey.
Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stir. (or until your peaches are rather warm)
Serve with your choice of yogurt, sorbet or coconut yogurt.

It’s that simple. Impress your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day with a homemade treat.

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Simple Tuna Wrap

I’d always heard about people adding avocado to their tuna instead of mayonnaise. Originally I discarded the thought because the taste combination didn’t seem to work in my head, however with the development of my egg allergy I had to step outside my comfort zone.

I decided to give the avocado and tuna a try but I wanted to spice it up a little and include more flavor. The result was a fresca, guacamole inspired tuna salad that I placed in a coconut wrap. This wrap is delicious, simple to make and relatively inexpensive… it’s a triple threat. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

INGREDIENTS

1 can of tuna
1/2 avocado, sliced
juice of 1 lime
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 – 2 coconut wraps

RECIPE

Drain liquid from the tuna and place tuna in a bowl.
Add avocado, lime juice, red onion and cilantro to bowl.
Mix all ingredients together, mashing occasionally; until desired consistency is reached.
Place tuna mixture into wrap.

It’s that simple. Also, it’s a great option for a picnic or camping, the ingredients are simple enough to transport which means you can bring it with you and make it wherever you are.

Happy Wrapping!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

A New Year, A New You

It’s the New Year! Even after two weeks it’s still hard to believe that another year has gone by and a new one has started. Every year the transition into a new year seems to creep up on me and then fly by before I even realize what has happened.

I’m encouraging you to set aside time right now and think about your coming year, because we know we won’t actually do it later like we say we will. A New Year offers so many possibilities, you can adopt a new look, start a solid exercise plan, do better at eating well, basically become a new person. So what are you going to do to become a new you?

Pick three things to focus on this year that will help you become a new you, a you that is more inline with your goals and dreams. Then do one thing today for each of those areas of focus. To help you with this I’ll show you my focuses and tasks.

The three things I will do to become a new me this year…

Focus more on my yoga practice- today I’ll go to the hot yoga class I haven’t had time for, for the past week.
Focus on reducing stress- I’m not great at meditating but today I’ll take 15 minutes and try my best to meditate.
Focus on enjoying the moment- today I will go for a walk and not spend the whole walk thinking about what I need to do when I make it home but instead enjoy being outside and having time to myself.

Now it’s your turn. Don’t over think it, just write down what’s on your mind, there is no right or wrong answer here. Now tomorrow do one thing towards each of your areas of focus and so on. This are slightly different than health goals because they are broader, don’t need to be as defined and don’t need to be health specific.

Happy New You!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Setting Health Goals For The New Year

A New Year will be here before you know it and it’s important to start it off right. To do that you need a plan of action and to make a plan you need to know what your end goals are. So lets work on setting some goals.

As you prepare your goals for the New Year especially the ones that are health related there a few ways you can look at it, you could have a goal focused on loosing weight, on improving your fitness, or even eating better. It could even be a combination of the three.

With whatever goal or goals you choose you should make sure they have these 3 success factors in common.

They’re specific- they are clearly defined. For example, “I will lose 10 pounds or I will eat no wheat”.
They have a time frame- you can provide a date by which you plan to achieve your goal or a specific time frame.
A list of actionable steps to achieve your goal- you can create a list of steps you need to complete to reach your end goal, each step should have an action associated with it.

When setting your health goal or goals for the New Year make sure they adhere to the 3 success factors. As a final note about selecting your goals, make sure that you don’t exceed 2 or 3 goals total. The more goals you have the less likely you are to complete them because of a lack of focus. The best practice is to pick one goal and go for it.

Happy New Year!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Our Top 9 Holiday Recipes

No holiday would be complete without a favorite dish or meal. To help celebrate this year we’ve pulled our top 9 favorite recipes perfect for a holiday meal to share with you. These recipes are exactly what you need to serve the perfect paleo holiday meal.

Our top 8 favorite holiday recipes are…

Try serving up one of these dishes this holiday season and everyone will be happy.

Happy Holidays!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Coconut Fudge Bars

Sometimes mistakes are gifts waiting to show up! In this case it couldn’t be truer. I was playing around with making a coconut cream pie and ended up making fudge bars! These bars are rich and will conquer your sweet tooth and coconut cravings.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups shredded coconut (the all natural, unsweetened kind)
1 3/4 cans coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons tapioca flour
2 tablespoons gelatin

coconut pie crust base (Instead of pressing into a pie you will press into the bottom of a rectangular pyrex or glass dish and bake, no need to make it come up the sides you are simple making a base for the fudge)

RECIPE

Prepare crust bottom for fudge, see notes above and link to recipe.
Toast shredded coconut in a frying pan over medium heat, this will take a few minutes and it is best to keep stirring the coconut and keep your eye on it.
After coconut is golden brown remove from heat and set aside.
In a pot combine coconut milk, honey, coconut sugar, vanilla and salt; simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes turn off heat.
Then add 6 tablespoons of the heated milk mixture to a small bowl and whisk in gelatin.
Add gelatin mixture, tapioca flour and toasted coconut to pot; combine everything thoroughly.
Pour combined mixture over coconut crust base and place in the fridge.
Let set for 2 hours.

This is just what you need when you’re craving something sweet!

Enjoy!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!

Our Top 5 Pie Recipes

Sometimes a treat is just what you need, especially during the holidays. So in honor of the holidays we’ve created a list of our five favorite pies based on recipes featured on our blog. So in no particular order because picking five was hard enough, here are our 5 favorite pies.

In addition to our favorite pies we also think they pair perfectly with our Paleo Pie Crust and Coconut Pie Crust recipes!

Happy Baking!

Melissa Van Dover

PALEO Cleanse made the Amazon Best Seller list!